Download Fact Sheet Andrea Mantegnas Triumphs of Caesar

Factsheet
The Triumphs of Caesar by Andrea Mantegna
• The Triumphs of Caesar represent some of the most important
Italian
Renaissance
paintings
in
the
world.
Collectively
they
constitute the largest
area of Renaissance painting in a single pageant on display
outside of Italy.
• The series was painted by Andrea Mantegna, probably
between c.1485 and
1506. The son of a master carpenter, Mantegna was born c.1431
and died in 1506.
He trained in Padua and was the Court
painter to the Gonzaga family from 1460.
• The Triumphs of Caesar were probably commissioned by
Mantegna’s
Patron Francesco II Gonzaga (ruled 1845-1519).
• A ‘Triumph’ was the greatest honour that could be given to a
Roman
general.
Classical subjects like Julius Caesar (c.102-44BC)
were greatly admired in the Renaissance, in this case for his
military and literary skills. Caesar was awarded five triumphs,
which all took place between 46 and 45 BC. This particular
triumph would appear to unite at least two of his greatest
campaigns; the victory over the Gauls and recovery of Pontus
in Asia Minor, but may indeed be a composite representation
of all of Caesar’s triumphs.
• The series of nine paintings depict soldiers carrying captured
booty,
elephants and other exotic animals and also Caesar on a
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triumphal chariot.
• Each canvas measures 2.66m x 2.78m. In total they cover an
area more
than 70 metres square.
• The works were painted in glue distemper (animal glue based
medium) or
egg tempera - a mixture of egg yolk and pigment. Analysis is
complicated by all the layers of paint added by later
restorations.
• The paintings were bought for Charles I in 1629 by his agent,
Daniel Nys,
who obtained an impressive collection for the king which
included works by
Titian, Raphael and Caravaggio - all for the sum of £25,000.
• The canvasses have been displayed at Hampton Court Palace
since their
arrival in England in 1630, apart from a brief three month spell
in 1992, when they were hung in the Royal Academy of Arts.
• After the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Triumphs were
listed in an
inventory and valued at £1,000.
However Oliver Cromwell
decided not to
sell the paintings as their importance to the nation (financial if
not artistic)
was too great.
• The paintings deteriorated to such an extent that visitors in
the 19th
Century deplored their decayed condition.
• Today eight of the paintings can be seen in their restored
state, however
the painting entitled The Captives was left in an uncleaned
state in the 1962-1974 restoration as very little original paint
lay below the surface.
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• Over the years the Triumphs have been hung in various parts
of Hampton
Court Palace.
Today they are displayed in the Lower
Orangery, in a setting which recreates the interior of the
Palace of San Sebastiano in Mantua, Italy, where the paintings
were hung from 1506 in a specially built gallery. The lighting
and positioning of the paintings conjures up the illusion that
the Roman procession is moving right in front of you.
• The titles of the individual paintings in The Triumphs of Caesar
are as
follows:
I
The Trumpeters and Standard Bearers
II
The Triumphal Carts
III
The Trophy Bearers
IV
The Vase Bearers and Sacrificial Oxen
V
The Elephants
VI
The Armour Bearers
VII
The Captives
VIII
The Musicians
IX
Julius Caesar
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